February 22, 2022
It’s wonderful to be writing to you with some certainty around the opening of Western Australia’s borders. With travellers allowed to enter the State from March 3 without a requirement to quarantine, our AFL season became much easier to plan.
That’s not to say that we’re not acutely aware of the COVID-19 risks that remain, and I hope that you are managing to stay safe and COVID-free as the number of cases in Western Australia increases.
While the crowd capacity at Optus Stadium will be capped at 75 per cent under the government’s current level one public health and social measures, we will continue to work with the State Government, WA Police and Optus Stadium to ensure that attending matches is a safe and enjoyable experience for all members.
We’ve had 75 per cent capacity limits before, and we’ve managed to fit in all of our members; we will communicate with you prior to round one if there are any special requirements that you need to be aware of. Hopefully, we will be back at 100 per cent before too long; however, the safety of our players, staff and the community remain at the forefront of our minds and we will work to the rules in place as the season progresses.
I apologise in advance that we will continue to be very cautious with all of our players this year in relation to public appearances and access to players at training and other club events, to best minimise their exposure to COVID-19. We have all seen in recent months how infections can spread so quickly among sporting clubs and impact the ability to field a competitive team; the more we can do to avoid this, the better we will be able to navigate the season effectively.
Now onto the part that you’re most interested in, I imagine!
We held an intra-club practice match on Friday night, which was a pretty intense affair, as players enjoyed a step up from match simulation for their hardest hit-out of the pre-season.
It was great seeing Josh Kennedy, Elliot Yeo and Nic Naitanui getting some game time in the first half, while Tim Kelly played well and looks ready to go. Jake Waterman kicked four goals and played effectively up forward, and Dom Sheed got down to business in the second half, in particular. Jack Redden showed no signs of having missed some of the pre-season, and has hit the ground running.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t all good news, as Greg Clark injured the same shoulder he injured in the WAFL Grand Final when playing for Subiaco, and will miss the early part of the season. Sam Petrevski-Seton has a sore knee from a collision, which we hope won’t keep him out for too long.
Despite these setbacks, all of our draftees are showing great signs on the track – Sam, Greg, Campbell Chesser, Brady Hough, Rhett Bazzo and Jack Williams – and can only improve with time and experience.
We still have a few players missing from the action, but we are looking forward to the build up to the season, with a practice match against Fremantle on Friday and then a full game against Fremantle on Sunday, March 6 at Fremantle Oval at 4pm.
I know you are probably anxious to know how things are progressing with Jack Darling; however, as I’m sure you’ll appreciate, it’s a private and sensitive situation, and there’s nothing I can comment on beyond what the club has already stated publicly. We will share any updates when we can.
On a very pleasing note, and especially after a couple of very uncertain seasons, it’s been humbling to see over 90,000 of our Eagles family sign up as club members once again so far – thank you. We’re on the path to break that 100,000-member barrier again, for the third year running, which is a fantastic reflection of your support.
We also continue to receive great support from our partners and sponsors who are all looking forward to the season.
The whole club is excited to get into the 2022 season, starting with round one on Sunday, March 20, at Optus Stadium – it will be a massive first match against Gold Coast and we will be ready.
In the meantime, enjoy as the excitement builds towards round one of the 2022 Toyota AFL Premiership Season!
Take care and stay well.
Kind regards,
Trevor Nisbett
Chief Executive
